Shadow Star
by Sivasas
Summary: When an unexpected meteorite lands on the Earth, chaos returns once again for the Z Fighters when an ancient evil surfaces on the Earth in hunt for someone who will turn out to be a new ally in need of dire help. Set three years after the Majin Buu Saga.
1. The Meteorite

Goku gazed up at the night sky and smiled. He had just been through an intense training session with Goten. He even persuaded Gohan to take a break from his studies and spar with him. The Saiyan yawned and stretched his arms. He closed his eyes and became encased in deep thought. For several weeks, Goku had been wondering when a new evil will show itself; He was happy with the peace, but he afraid his friends were becoming too soft. He couldn't admit to Gohan that he was slightly disappointed that he rarely trained too. Sure, he didn't mind Gohan reading his books, but it would have been much nicer if he trained more often and kept his strength at a reasonable level instead of letting his power slowly decrease every day due to lack of any fighting. He was glad Goten was taking his training seriously though, even though it took him a few weeks to stop his whining about his dates being cancelled. Eventually, he started to enjoy his sparring with his father. Goku knew he was close to becoming an Ascended Super Saiyan, a state that he had reached back in his training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber with Gohan. If Trunks could somehow ascend and then fuse with Goten, Gotenks would be a very powerful challenge. Vegeta was keen on getting Trunks to train often, so if Trunks wasn't an Ascended Saiyan yet, he would be soon. With the two boys training, their fused self could easily be the defender of Earth. He knew he could fuse with Vegeta and become insanely powerful, but he knew the Prince of Saiyans wouldn't go through what happened in the fight with Majin Buu again; even though the Fusion Dance variation would only last for thirty minutes.

Goku's deep thought was interrupted by a familiar voice, "Goku?! Where the hell are you?"

Goku looked around searching for the source of the voice and then giggled, realizing that the owner was inside his own house, "I'm outside, Chi Chi."

He heard the sound of a door opening before turning around and seeing his wife, "Goku, do you know what time it is? Even though you're a Super Saiyan, you need your sleep! We have a very important day ahead of us tomorrow! Finish whatever you're doing, and come to bed!" She explained, her voice getting slightly angrier towards the end of her speech.

"Alright, I'll be in bed in a few minutes." Goku laughed at Chi Chi. The woman grunted and went back inside the Son household.

* * *

Vegeta charged and caught his opponent off guard, punching them in the stomach and making them gasp in pain. His sparring partner was quick to avoid another attack by talking, "Gee, dad! I know we're training and all, but do you really have to go all out?"

Vegeta grunted and turned his back to his son, "If you can't hold yourself against me, what hope do you have if a new evil shows itself?"

"Alright, I got ya." Trunks sighed before getting back into his defensive stance. He knew there was no use arguing with his dad, he wondered why he even bothered stopping the fight just then. He sighed again, "Let's continue."

The prince turned around and smiled, "With pleasure." He dashed off his feet and flew at Trunks like a bullet. This time, however, Trunks dodged his father's attack and counterattacked with a punch of his own. Vegeta was quick to turn around and catch his son's fist with his own hand. He briefly smiled and kicked Trunks with incredible speed, sending him flying into the wall of their training room.

Trunks took his time getting back to his feet due to being injured, but he was not giving up just yet. "Okay, enough. Let's take this fight to the next level." The young Saiyan said. Trunks suddenly became enveloped in a blast of light and emerged out in his Super Saiyan form. Trunks grinned and charged towards his father.

The father of the two prepared to guard the attack, but to his surprise, Trunks phased right through him. He turned around, expecting his opponent to be behind him. However, all he found was some unexpected pain in his back that sent him flying, all thanks to a powerful kick by Trunks. Vegeta was quick to regain control and stopped in mid-air. "Excellent. Seems you still have some kick in you after all." He said. "But, I want to see how you do against a REAL Super Saiyan!" Before Trunks could even react, his father had transformed.

Trunks was starting to get very nervous. He expected his father to transform into a Super Saiyan, but instead, he had transformed into a Super Saiyan 2. This amount of power completely dwarfed what power Trunks had left. Hesitation overwhelmed him as his father stared at him, sparks of electricity crackling all across his body. "Dad... you... you know I don't stand a chance... if you're like that."

Vegeta continued to stare at his son for a few seconds before giving a response, "Have you even been listening to me, boy? When me and Kakarot fought Majin Buu, Buu's power was hundreds of times stronger than my own. Even Kakarot barely stood a chance. Ever since then, I've been training for one reason. Ascension. Kakarot reached the stage of Super Saiyan 3. I want to reach that and go even further beyond! You must ascend as well or you'll be completely useless. I don't want my son to be a weakling. Your power level would have been acceptable about the time when you were born, but now, it isn't. I'm actually doing you a favor. When you fight me with max power, I'll be putting your body through vigorous training. You'll ascend in no time."

"I... I understand. So, I'll fight you... until I ascend?" Trunks replied, some hesitation still lingering inside him. Trunks didn't expect his father to carry out a speech all of a sudden.

"Yes, but when you're ascended, you'll still be fairly weak, but if you fuse with Goten, you'll be a challenge even to Kakarot himself. You and Goten's combined strength makes up for your individual flaws. I'm certain Kakarot has seen the same as me and is training Goten as well." Vegeta explained, his son remaining quiet and listening.

Any response Trunks was about to say was interrupted by what felt like a very powerful earthquake that shook Capsule Corporation's foundations. The power of the earthquake even made Vegeta lose some balance. Trunks could barely manage to hold himself together, "What...What's... happening? Do you feel that power?!"

* * *

The very same earthquake was felt at the Son house. Goku's beauty sleep was cut short when a picture frame fell to his face and woke him up. "Urgh... Chi Chi, is it morning already?"

"GOKU!" Chi Chi screamed at the top of her lungs. "What's happening?!" She screamed again, shaking Goku and fully wakening him up. Chi Chi then collapsed to the ground, the earthquake's power being too much for her.

Goku shot out of bed and was about to respond to his wife's panicking, but then he felt it. An incredible power. Goten ran into his parents room and nearly tripped over due to the intense power of the earthquake, "Dad! What on earth is happening? How can an earthquake bring even us to our knees?!"

"I don't know, but I can barely move!" Goku panicked himself. "This power is outstanding, something is causing it! Wait..." Goku suddenly transformed into his Super Saiyan 2 form. "Ah, I can actually move decently now!"

"Dad!" Goten shouted at his father. "This is no time for joking around!" Goten roared again at his father. Goten then realized what his father was doing and he too transformed into a Super Saiyan, regaining some control against the massive power attacking his body.

Goku opened the window and flew outside without giving Goten any warning to his plan whatsoever, "Whatever is causing that earthquake is coming from over there." He said, pointing towards a direction that had a lot of noise echoing from it. Goten by now had followed his dad outside the window, still struggling to hold on against the earthquake's power; he felt like his very body was being forced down towards the center of the Earth. "Wait! The earthquake is dying down!" He shouted.

The second son of Goku knew his dad was right, he was quickly regaining control over his body and was able to fly more freely, "Suppose we should check out the source of whatever caused that, right?"

Goku smiled, "Took the words out of my mouth. I'm sure some of our friends will be there too. Seems like our little reunion will happen regardless of this event."

* * *

Vegeta and Trunks were quick to arrive at the source of this catastrophe. To their surprise, the origins of this phenomenon was because of a gigantic meteorite that had pierced a massive piece of land. All that they could see was a massive red hunk of rock. However, Vegeta wasn't focusing on the meteorite. "Do you feel that?"

Trunks looked up to his father, who was hovering in the air with his arms folded, "Feel what?"

"It's faint, but I feel a power level coming from within that chunk of debris." He said with almost no emotion in his voice.

The young Saiyan closed his eyes and focused on detecting any power levels. Eventually, he too found the power his father was describing. "Yes, I feel it now."

"I sense that power as well." A different voice said, startling Trunks. Trunks turned around and looked up and saw Piccolo, staring curiously at the meteorite. "An extraordinary power is inside that meteor. It's... odd. This power feels completely unique to anything else I've encountered. I can't even tell if the owner of this power is strong or weak."

"Oh, they're strong." Another different voice said, this one with much more confidence than the former. Vegeta grunted at the sound of Goku's voice and remained silent, still staring at what brought them all here.

Trunks smiled, "Nice to see you Goku!" He gazed around and spotted his best friend, Hey Goten, long time no see!"

Goten looked around, realizing he wasn't paying attention and that someone said his name. He then spotted Trunks smiling at him. "Oh! Hey there Trunks! It's been a while, ha!" He laughed, hoping his friend didn't realize his day dreaming.

"Am I too late to join the party?" Gohan asked after flying into the scene. Both Goku and Piccolo smiled at the fact that Gohan showed up.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Vegeta snapped with an obvious tone of anger in his voice. "Shouldn't you be at home reading your books? I'm actually surprised you've shown up here. Do you know how lucky you were? You were given powers warriors like I would dream to have during the fight with Majin Buu without any effort whatsoever on your part. And what do you do with it? NOTHING!" Vegeta roared with anger. Gohan remained silent, mostly ignoring Vegeta's rant. He had learnt to expect this from him.

"Woah woah woah! Calm down Vegeta!" Goku quickly said, flying in front of Vegeta. "Hey, it was Gohan's decision to go off and study instead of training. You know he never was a fan of fighting."

Vegeta's anger grew to new levels and he snapped again, "You idiot! He was the strongest out of all of us TWICE, and then he threw everything he had so that he could go on dates and dig his nose in all those pathetic books!"

"If you two were not too busy arguing, you would have realized that we have company." Piccolo said, forcing Goku, Vegeta and everyone else's attention towards the meteorite. Something was coming out of it.


	2. Nightmares

A figure emerged from the top of the meteorite, slowly floating up towards the sky in the process before stopping mid-air. It was so far away from the Z Fighters that it looked like a silhouette. Vegeta glared up with an uncertain look on his face, "What is that thing?"

The rest of our heroes remained silent, waiting for this potential new foe to make any kind of movement. Suddenly, the figure appeared to fall out of the sky, crash landing somewhere in the crater.

Goku gasped, "That guy might be hurt!" Goku was eager to power up and fly towards the location of where this person fell, but he was stopped by Vegeta.

"Hold it right there, Kakarot!" Vegeta said, putting his arm in front of Goku to gain his attention. "We don't know anything about this meteorite, where it came from and whoever that is over there, and you want to help them? We could be facing a new enemy."

Goku laughed at his friend, "We're not going to find out until we check this guy out, right?" Vegeta grunted and was about to reply to his rival, but decided not to in the end, knowing best there was no use in arguing with someone who wouldn't listen to him. "Well, let's go then." Goku said, flying towards the crash site afterwards. Piccolo, Goten, Trunks and Gohan were quick to follow. Vegeta glanced at the meteorite with the same uncertain look on his face and then took off after the others. Goku was the first to find the figure they saw and rushed over towards what appeared to be a unconscious being. The Saiyan was overwhelmed with horror at what he saw. Eventually, the others found Goku's location and were shocked to find him standing like he was frozen. It wasn't until they saw what Goku was staring at that they realized why he was speechless.

* * *

He was in an empty void. His eyes opened with hesitation because of the horrors that he had seen in his tragic life. All he saw was darkness. Nothing but darkness. "Where... Where am I? I see nothing... darkness... Am I in the... afterlife? No, I can't! I can't be! I can't fail them!" He gazed down at his body armor and saw it was nearly all wrecked. He then noticed something that would horrify him for the rest of his life; blood. Normally, blood wouldn't bother him, but it was the blood of his best friend. The one that sacrificed herself so that he could live. Upon remembering that tragic day, tears began flowing out of his eyes. He then heard something else that would also scar him for life, a voice. It was the voice of the one that killed her. The one that took her away from him. It was all coming back to him. He promised himself never to think of that day again, but it was like someone was forcing him to. He cried out one last time before his vision reappeared at a scene he thought he'd never experience again.

* * *

"Fool." An intimidating dark voice said, sending goosebumps through the duo. "Do you honestly think you have any chance of defeating me?"

A young woman, dressed in similar armor to the boy standing beside her took a few steps forward with little to no confidence, her body shaking ever so slightly, "Have to be honest with you, I don't think we stand a chance." The boy gasped and looked up at her. The armored girl tilted her eyes towards the panicking boy, "Don't worry about it. I've told you before, it's better to go down fighting than to not fight at all. That's one of the many rules of being a Saiyan. Remember, you're the male one here, if anything, I should be the one panicking."

The boy replied with hesitation in his voice, "Um... sure... I hope so."

Their moment was interrupted by their opponent, "Sorry to cut your little chat short, but I've been awfully generous by giving you two time to say your goodbyes. Unfortunately, your time is up. Prepare to die!" The horrifying voice roared, charging towards the duo. The female got into a defensive stance, her actions influencing the boy to do the same. Their menacing opponent attempted to attack the girl with its fist, the female Saiyan barely managing to dodge the attack. Unfortunately, there was no time for her react so quickly again as a powerful kick struck her chest. The female Saiyan slowly fell down to the blood stained floor. Her blood.

Her armored companion cried in horror at the blood and the lifeless body, "No!"

"Yes." The enemy replied. "Poor girl. She never knew what hit her. I'm still feeling very generous, so I'll give you a minute or two to say your goodbyes and then I'll give you a head start in a game of Hide and Seek. You're playing, by the way." The owner of the haunting voice turned towards the shaking male Saiyan. "You know, monkey. I'm surprised. You're very scared. Then again, I did kill your friend, still, shouldn't you Saiyans be showing some confidence no matter what scenario you're in? Oh well."

He was too busy being attacked by his own thoughts to concentrate on what the murderer was saying. He had lost her. The one person who understood him. The person who tried to make him great. He had lost her and it was all his fault.

* * *

The darkness of the void once again clogged up his vision. He saw nothing. He heard nothing. Still, he had been through so much in his life that when nothing was happening, this was a gift more than a curse. Despite what he thought, something was happening. His mind was being attacked by thoughts. Terrible thoughts. Every single little thing he had been through was raiding his mind without mercy. "Why am I tormented like this? Haven't I been through enough? Why can't someone finally just put me to rest once and for all?"

* * *

Goku awoke to the birds singing outside and the sun shining down through the window. He was in Kame House. Goku at first was wondering why he was here all of a sudden and he gazed around looking for an answer, but then he remembered it all. Goten was also present and he was awake, wondering himself when his father would notice his presence. Eventually, he decided to speak up, "Took you long enough, dad. You've been asleep for a while."

"Gee, sorry Goten. I was just really tired after waiting for that guy to wake up." Goku explained, yawning in the process. He stretched his arms and stood up.

Goten yawned in return and then spoke, "So, dad." Goku looked down on his son who was sitting down on a chair, eager for his son to continue. "Who do you think that is? Why does he look like... well... you know..."

"Like a Saiyan?" Goku responded with a slightly serious tone to his voice. "He has the tail and everything. It's bizarre. Don't you agree, son?"

"That is not a Saiyan!" A familiar angry voice called out. Vegeta walked into the room and grunted at the father and son. "Don't you know anything? The only Saiyans that are left counting out the half breeds are me and Kakarot. All the Saiyans before the destruction of our planet were part of Frieza's army and if this guy survived the destruction, he would have joined my group alongside Nappa and Raditz. Even if he managed to evade being discovered by Frieza's army, there would have been no way he could have survived alone."

Goku shrugged his shoulders and responded, "It's a convincing argument." Vegeta grunted again, knowing his rival would say something that would most likely aggravate him. "But you saw him, Vegeta. He has the Saiyan armor and a tail. What else could he be?"

"A weakling." Vegeta said, spitting on the ground and walking out. Goku sighed, but the good news was just around the corner.

Goku heard the welcoming voice of his first son, Gohan, calling up to him, "Dad! He's waking up!"

"He is?" Goten called out, hopping off his chair and running downstairs to where Master Roshi had put the unconscious Saiyan. Goku followed him, still curious about this unknown Saiyan.

Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, Goten, Trunks, Piccolo and Master Roshi were all present when the Saiyan barely opened his eyes after his long sleep, "Uh..." He gazed up and saw seven figures staring down at him. "Who...who...me? You're... I'm... alive? What...?" The saiyan's eyes suddenly shot open and he jumped out of bed, "Prince Vegeta? Impossible!"

Out of nowhere, the young Saiyan charged up an energy blast and fired at the prince who he blocked it with ease, this sudden attack made the other warriors get into a fighting stance in case of an attack. Vegeta walked towards the surprised Saiyan and grabbed him by the neck, "Alright kid. Who the heck are you and why did you attack me?"

"Did...Did it work?" He laughed, spitting in Vegeta's face by what appeared to be an accident.

Vegeta was not impressed. His anger was growing which backed up his decision to throw the newcomer against the wall, "If you don't want to die, you're going to explain who you are."

The beaten warrior gazed up in pain, "Oh dear lord. It worked..."

"Oh for crying out loud. What are you babbling on about now?" Vegeta demanded, his patience being tested in a way he heavily disliked.

The Saiyan slowly stood up and regained his balance. He saw everyone staring at him and hesitation began growing all over him. Eventually, he spoke, "My... My name is Vegeta. Prince Vegeta, from a different dimension to yours."


	3. The Mystery of Mystic

Vegeta was speechless, not only had another Saiyan attacked him today, but this very same Saiyan claimed to be himself. Goku on the other hand was eager to speak, "That makes no sense. How can you be Vegeta? You look nothing like him."

The other Vegeta looked down at the floor and sighed, "I told you. I come from an alternate universe, many things are different in my universe than in yours."

"That explains why you're a weakling." Vegeta said, finally finding something to say after his earlier silence.

"You're not the nicest person, are you?" The alternate Vegeta joked. Vegeta glared at him with a 'I got my eye on you' look. The new warrior waited for Vegeta's reply, but when it didn't come, he turned his attention to more pressing matters, "I know this sounds strange, but I am here for a reason. I'm not the best explainer, so I'll make this short and sweet. For years I have been chased by a very powerful evil. One day, however, my space pod was hit by something and it was sent spiraling out of control. Unfortunately for me, I was sent flying right into a black hole."

Gohan was quick to reply, "So we just need a way to get you back home, right? Problem solved for you?"

"Yes and no." The Saiyan replied, looking up at Gohan. "I am sorry to say this, but when I went through that black hole, I was followed by what was following me." His face turned towards Vegeta, who was standing with his arms folded. "I'm sorry for attacking you Vegeta, but you look similar to one of those vile creatures that followed me." Vegeta gave no reply. "I think I'll be stuck on this world for a while, and since there are two of us, I guess it'll be easier if you call me by my other name."

"Oh? You have another name?" Vegeta responded at last. He was still baffled at how there could be an alternate version of him, and he heavily disliked the fact how weak he was.

"Yes. My father is a horrible man and he named me Vegeta. It's a name I disgust simply because it was him who gave me that name." The young Saiyan responded, looking down at the floor in shame.

"What's your other name then?" Master Roshi asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

The Saiyan smiled and answered the old man's question, "You can call me Mystic."

"Well, nice to meet you Mystic." Goku said, raising his arm towards the new group member for a handshake. Mystic hesitated for a moment, but eventually returned Goku's sign of friendship.

"Thank you all. I've never had any real friends, with the exception of... well... that's a story for another day." Mystic said sadly. Vegeta raised an eyebrow, he wasn't certain about their new 'friend'. Vegeta was certain Mystic was hiding something and he was determined to find out what. Piccolo was feeling the same; he had remained silent during the wakening of Mystic and ony listened to what was being said.

"If you don't mind." Piccolo began, finally breaking his silence. "I want to know how you ended up with that meteorite. You said you were in a space pod, yes?"

Mystic looked up at the Namekian and took a few seconds to respond, "Uh, when I went through the black hole, my ship crash landed on a meteorite that was heading towards your planet."

Mystic was about to carry on with his story, but he was interrupted when Vegeta grabbed him by the neck and threw him against the wall, "Imbecile! Do you take us for fools? Are you honestly telling me that you just happened to land on a meteorite that was heading to a planet with other Saiyans and an alternate and more powerful variation of yourself? I know you're hiding something, and I'm going beat it out of you."

"You're... challenging me?" Mystic asked. His body language gave away that he was nervous and scared. He wasn't prepared for any fight. Not now at least.

"Hold on." Gohan said, coming to Mystic's rescue and much to the annoyance of Vegeta. "Vegeta, what do you plan to do with this fight? What's the point in it?"

Vegeta spat in Gohan's face, "Stay out of this, bookworm."

"Please." Mystic began, stopping the argument that was about to occur. "Please listen to me. We have no time to fight each other. That evil has followed me here, the problem is, I don't know if it landed on that meteorite as well or if it's still on its way to Earth."

Vegeta gasped, remembering something that he failed to investigate earlier, he turned towards Goku and began speaking fast, "Kakarot. Remember that power we sensed?"

"Oh yeah." Goku replied, slightly confused at what Vegeta was asking. "What about it?"

The Prince of Saiyans grunted at his rival, "You idiot! Haven't you put two and two together yet? Myself, you, Trunks and the Namek all felt a unique power coming from within that blasted meteorite!" He pointed at Mystic. "This pathetic excuse of a Saiyan doesn't have this unique power. He's just a weakling. If what he's saying is true, then this 'powerful evil' that has chased him is in that meteorite!"

Piccolo was the first of the group to reply and he did so with great speed, "It all makes sense now!"

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go and tackle this new foe." Trunks said, raising his fist in the air with Goten cheered him on. Vegeta smiled at his son's determination and left the island house. He powered up and left to go to the site of the meteor. All of the Z Fighters with the exception of Master Roshi were quick to follow his lead.

"No!" Mystic shouted, realizing the mistake the heroes of Earth were making.

Master Roshi gazed up at the young man, "What's the matter Mystic?"

Mystic slowly turned his head towards the old master and Roshi himself could see the horror in his eyes, "They're all fools! They'll underestimate my enemies for sure! They can't be beaten! This planet is lost! Why did I let them lead without telling them about the secrets of my enemies? Why?!"

Before Master Roshi could make any sort of reply, the young Saiyan had already left the house and flew off, hoping to reach the others before it was too late.

* * *

"Alright people!" A man called out towards a crowd of people eager to see this phenomenon. "Settle down, settle down! Our greatest scientists are here to look at this strange meteorite and see how it got here without any of our best minds noticing it. We'll get you more information within the hour, so go home and put on the news or something." His speech did the trick, the people moaned as their curiosity could not be fed and they all eventually left the crash site.

"What a strange occurrence " Another man with a lab coat muttered, stroking his beard. "We're lucky a meteorite of this size didn't land in one of the cities. It appears no one has been hurt." He gazed around at the fields surrounding the red rock. He asked himself several questions that he knew weren't probably going to be answered before he left to do some more research.

"So, Professor Kyle, why do you think this meteor slipped into the Earth without anyone noticing?" Another scientist asked.

The scientist who was muttering to himself earlier realized that the scientist next to him was asking _him _a question and quickly said whatever came to mind, "Um must of been some sort of malfunction on our satellites." His mind cleared and he then finished off his theory, "There's no logical answer other than the one I just gave, Tom."

Tom nodded, "I agree."

Unknown to the two scientists, they were being watched.

* * *

"I grow tired of these games, Nexus!" A tall, bald headed man yelled, dark shadowy flames attacking all of his body, yet to no negative effect. "When do we launch our attack?" He gazed down at the humans who were researching what happened here.

Another tall man, this one with long dark hair , most likely the one known as Nexus, looked up, "Be patient, Void. Your time to feed on blood will come soon enough. Wait for our lord to reach a decision." Nexus had the same dark shadowy flames that Void had, and he looked just as deadly.

Void growled at Nexus, "I thirst for blood. I must have it now!" He gazed back down at the scientists, "They look so tasty, why can't I feed on them? I've waited so long for a snack!"

Nexus sighed, "We don't want them thinking aliens are invading, now do we?" He shook his head, "If these creatures spread the word, it's certain Mystic will find out about us being here and flee."

Void growled yet again, Nexus's answer not satisfying him, "You're glad we're buddies. If not, I'd probably consume you right here and right now. Nexus snickered.

"I'd keep your mouth shut now, the boss is coming." A third man said, this one shorter than the others with familiar spiked up hair. This one to have more shadowy flames than the other two, possibly indicating a higher power or authority.

A final man, this one with so much shadowy flames that you could barely make out its figure, phased through the meteorite as if it wasn't a solid. It spoke in a dark, frightening voice, "You three have waited long enough. It's time to find our friend, Mystic and annihilate him."

Nexus stood up proudly and bowed, "Thank you, Lord Shadow Star."

The lord of the aliens smiled with delight and licked his lips, "Let's stretch our bones and get some food first." He looked down at the creatures he saw gazing in wonder at his spaceship.

Nexus couldn't stop smiling.


	4. Trunks vs Nexus

All of the Z Fighters were flying towards the epicenter of the event that started everything. Goku's curiosity was reaching new levels as he thought about that strong power he felt lurking within that hunk of rock. It's outstanding how a power that big could suppress itself so much that it would take deep concentration for it to be noticed. He knew whatever foe he and his friends were going to face, it was going to very strong. Piccolo and Vegeta were unsure about the strength of the person they felt, but Goku knew that they would be a challenge even to him thanks to some techniques King Kai taught him in other world. A feeling made itself known in Goku's mind, a feeling he hadn't felt in years. He felt fear. He was uncertain if they could even win against the power he had sensed. He forced his doubt to the back of his head and focused on what they were approaching.

"Dad." Gohan began, grabbing the Saiyan's attention. "Something is on your mind."

"Yeah, don't worry about it." Goku muttered. Gohan nodded to himself, whatever his dad was thinking about, he wanted to keep it to himself. If he hadn't, he would have said everything by now. Gohan drew his attention back to the matter on hand and focused his concentration on flying, rather than his curiosity to what was making his father so uneasy.

Suddenly, Vegeta stopped dead in his tracks, much to the surprise of the others, "Stop you imbeciles! Something is coming." The rest of the Z Fighters followed his command and then they all sensed it. Not one, but two power levels were heading straight for them. The problem was, not one could tell which direction they were coming from. Their question was answered in a way that left them all unsatisfied as Piccolo was hit with full force by a kick, sending him crash landing to the ground in a matter of seconds.

"Oh my. I do apologise. I just wanted to make my entrance as dramatic as possible." A dark man cloaked in strange purple flames said, revealing himself to the Z Fighters. They all remained silent at this new enemy. "What's the matter? Oh well. Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Nexus. I sensed all of your powers flying towards my lord's spaceship and I decided that I would feast on you instead of those pitiful creatures."

Vegeta growled at Nexus, "Cut it already! You're making me sick!"

Nexus smirked at Vegeta's anger and began to speak, "I'm feeling awfully generous, so is anybody in the mood for a one on one?"

The reply that Nexus was awaiting came from someone who shocked Earth's Special Forces. "I'll fight." said Trunks giving his friends a smile. Vegeta even managed to briefly grin at his son's courage.

The dark being scanned the Saiyan's body, "Are you sure you want to fight? You're awfully young. Did you see what I did to the green man?"

"Thanks for that, by the way." Piccolo sarcastically growled, floating back up after his recovery.

Trunks ignored Piccolo's return and focused on Nexus, "I want to fight you. Is that a problem?"

"Oh, not at all. I was just thinking of your safety, that's all. I'm that generous." Nexus laughed at the Saiyan. He got into his fighting stance and beckoned Trunks to begin the attack.

"Ah, Nexus, you really do jump into things." Another dark person said after teleporting out of nowhere next to Nexus.

"I guess that explains who owned that second power level." Goten remarked, remembering what he sensed earlier.

"Nice of you to drop by, Void." Nexus replied, with some annoyance in his voice. "You can watch my fight, but you will not get involved. I've been eager to feast on a body that I earned all by myself." Void nodded to his companion and flew backwards so that he wouldn't get in the way of the duo. Nexus decided to begin the battle before anything else interrupted him by charging towards Trunks, leaving dark flames lingering in the sky where he once was. The dark man attempted to punch his Saiyan opponent, but Trunks dodged with relative ease. It wasn't long before he counterattacked and furiously assaulted Nexus with a powerful kick to the back which sent crash landing into a mountain. As the debris cleared from the destruction, Trunks found him standing there, mostly unharmed. Nexus adjusted his long hair so it wasn't in his way and smirked. "You've got some strength in you kid, I'll admit. But you'll have to do better than if you have any chance of defeating me."

"Bring it on." Trunks said with confidence. Nexus grinned and charged towards the Saiyan again. This time, they exchanged dozens of punches and kicks. These attacks either missed of collided with each other. Eventually, Nexus gained the upper hand and managed to successfully land a punch in Trunks face, knocking him back. Before the son of Vegeta could react to this attack, he was assaulted once more and he was the one sent flying back down to a mountain this time.

Vegeta growled, "Damn boy! Why isn't he taking this fight seriously?"

As soon as Trunks crash landed, he was welcomed by dozens upon dozens of ki blasts sent by his welcome committee, Nexus. There were too many for him to deflect or guard against and many of the blasts hit the mountain, forcing Trunks to be buried alive by boulders. After the rest of the rocks fell, a few seconds of silence was all that was left. Suddenly, a blast of energy erupted from within the mountain blasting the boulders away. Trunks had decided to stop playing games and transformed into a Super Saiyan. This massive increase of power had intrigued Nexus and he beckoned Trunks to attack with the motion of his dark hand. To the surprise of Nexus, Trunks acknowledged his request by firing a massive ki blast at his opponent. Nexus knew there was no time to dodge the attack, and instead decided to dodge it. This was his greatest mistake as the blast hit him and he struggled to guard against it. It was only a matter of seconds that Nexus gave in and the blast hit him, exploding and leaving a cloud of smoke.

* * *

The Z Fighters continued watching the battle between Trunks and Nexus. Vegeta was pleased that his son was fighting more seriously and Goten was cheering him on, despite the fact Trunks couldn't hear him as the two fighters were fighting in the distance.

They continued to watch the battle until they were interrupted by a new power level heading their way. "What a weak power." Vegeta commented right away, although his remark was ignored. As the source of the power came into sight, Vegeta spoke once again, "About time he caught up to us. Pathetic, really."

As soon as Mystic reached the group of fighters, he stopped with a horrifying look on his face which sparked Goku's curiousity, "Something the matter, Mystic?"

Gohan also noticed Mystic's nervousness and saw he was staring at Nexus, "Is that guy one of your enemies?" The friendly adult Saiyan asked.

The young warrior from an alternate universe gave no initial reply and instead shook, his facial expression showing anger that even Vegeta was surprised at, "It's... him! He was the one who took her away from me!"

Before the gang could even ask any questions or react in any way, Mystic had already took off into the sky in the direction of the battle between Trunks and Nexus. However, whatever he was planning to do was stopped when a dark figure teleported in front of him and stopping his flight, "Now, where do you think you're going, Mystic?"

* * *

Trunks wasn't going to give Nexus anytime to recover, he charged right into the cloud of smoke and almost instantly, Nexus was flying out of the clouds because of Trunks who was chasing him. Trunks returned some a few punches and slammed Nexus back down into the ground. Normally, the Super Saiyan would wait for his opponent to react, but he wasn't planning on wasting anymore time. He had his fun toying with enemy and now it was time to settle the score. He began gathering energy in both of his hands. When the young Saiyan was satisfied, he formed the energy into a mass ball of power and fired it at the site Nexus fell. Trunks expected this to be his win, but he was left in shock when his ball of energy was repelled and landed somewhere else in the area. As the smoke cleared from the area, Trunks saw Nexus with a dark red aura emerging from him.

"You should see the look on your face." Nexus said, smiling. "Let me show you the power of a Super Saiyan!"

"A Super Saiyan?!" Trunks yelled. The energy Nexus now possessed was overwhelming for the young Saiyan. Trunks predicted Nexus was now at least twice as strong as he was in his Super Saiyan form. He felt like he never stood a chance to begin with and that he just buried his own grave.

"What's the matter?" Nexus smirked. "Never seen a Super Saiyan before?"

"Im... Impossible!" That was all Trunks could say, he was speechless. The golden warrior scanned Nexus and noticed his hair was a dark, glowing red instead of the golden hair he was expecting. For a moment, he thought that Nexus was bluffing but then he remembered the power he sensed that Nexus now had. It was too much for him. Why did he decide to fight? Was it to impress his dad? It didn't matter to him now, he had humiliated himself because he underestimated his opponent.

"Before you burst into tears at my power, I want to ask you one question." Nexus began, causing Trunks to look up at him. "What's with the golden hair? As soon as your hair changed color, you got that nice power increase. I'm awfully curious."

Trunks was stunned, "This golden hair... shows that I am a Super Saiyan!" He yelled.

Nexus laughed, "You crack me up, kid. If you really were a Super Saiyan, you'd have dark red hair, just like me."

Trunks couldn't believe anything he was saying, this scenario made no sense. How could he be a Super Saiyan? He knew that himself, Goten, Gohan, Goku and his father were the only Saiyans left. But then again, Nexus and his gang came from an alternate dimension. Everything could be different there. Trunks made his decision, he wasn't going to give up, he was going to fight until he had no more. He wasn't going to be afraid just because your opponent was more powerful. If he had learnt anything from his father, it was to always fight a foe who has greater strength than you. "The challenge feeds your Saiyan genes." He remembered his father saying. He smiled, he wasn't going to let his friends down anytime soon.


	5. Ascension

Trunks focused his Super Saiyan energy and charged towards Nexus who was more than ready to continue the fight. Trunks attacked the dark man with countless punches and kicks that were either dodged or guarded against. Trunks continued his assault and quickened his speed; he also attempted to throw in a few ki blasts in addition to his physical attacks but it did nothing but drain the Saiyan's energy.

Eventually, Nexus grew bored with Trunks' attempts to land an attack on him and he waited for Trunks to let his guard down. After a few attacks, Nexus saw a vulnerable spot and punched Trunks in the stomach with great power. The extreme force of this act caused Trunks to spit out a bit of blood in the face of Nexus, who grinned as he drank it all much to the horror of Trunks who couldn't believe what he was seeing, "Your blood is... wonderful..." Nexus said wickedly as he licked his lips in delight. "Now, I've been awfully nice by giving you a chance to beat me. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough." He said. Trunks could only gaze in horror. "Don't be so down kid, you tried your best and that's all that counts, right? Say your goodbyes!"

Without mercy, Nexus grabbed the half saiyan and threw him to the ground with outstanding strength.

* * *

"Now, where do you think you're going, Mystic?"

Mystic remained where he was and his hands turned into fists. He knew that it was incredibly unlikely for him to win against this monstrosity that helped murder his best friend, but he had to try. He remembered her words about how it was better to die in battle than to not try at all. Even if he couldn't win and he got himself killed, he'd meet her in the afterlife, right? Mystic noticed that the ones known as Goku and Vegeta had followed him when he charged towards Nexus and the two of them were floating behind him. Vegeta smirked, "Don't bother fighting that weakling." He said, pointing to Mystic who ignored his comment. He expected this from the Vegeta of this universe.

Void laughed at Vegeta's comment, "Do you honestly think you stand a chance against me? Look how your friend over there is dealing with Nexus. It must embarrassing for you. You don't stand a chance, do you think you have the power to stop me?"

"Oh yes, my power is far superior to yours." Vegeta confidently smirkd. Void laughed again in return and flew backwards begging Vegeta to attack.

Vegeta charged forward at an incredible speed that even stunned the dark being. The duo exchanged various attacks; every single attack Vegeta made was successful while at the same time every attack that Void made was a miss. Void was growing in anger with every attack he missed and he attempted to be quicker and stronger, but it was all in vain.

"Bah!" Void yelled, wiping blood off his face from an earlier attack by Vegeta. "Well, I'll give you credit. You're tough, but not strong-" Before Void could finish his sentence, Vegeta had fired a massive ki blast at him that he had no time to avoid.

Void barely managed to survive the blast, he was completely covered in bruises and his shadowy flames were literally disappearing. Eventually, his cloak of shadows had vanished into mid air and Goku, Vegeta and Mystic all saw what was hiding underneath. A tall man with a bold head who was wearing... Saiyan... armor.

"Nappa?!" Goku and Vegeta yelled. To say Vegeta was surprised was an understatement. Someone that he thought he killed long ago had somehow returned and gained in strength. It was someone he never really liked, either.

"Nappa? Who's that?" The person who Vegeta thought was Nappa said. "I've told you, my name is Void! And now, you die!" He shouted, firing numerous ki blasts at Vegeta. The Saiyan prince dodged all of them effortlessly and decided to charge up an attack. His Final Flash. Vegeta decided that there was no time to be thinking about how Nappa came back to life; after all, it was a mystery he could solve later.

It didn't take long for Vegeta to charge up a Final Flash that was more than enough to kill his opponent, "FINAL FLASH!" Vegeta shouted, unleashing a mighty blast of energy that shook Void to his bone because of how powerful it was compared to him. This Final Flash wasn't as mighty as the one used against Cell as it hadn't been charged for that long, but Vegeta was confident it would do the trick in obliterating his opponent.

Void disintegrated in the blast; he was of no match to the Prince of all Saiyans. Mystic couldn't control his shaking, one of his worst enemies was vanquished like nothing. Vegeta smirked, "Overconfident fool." The prince said before turning around. He decided to ignore the fact that this guy was Nappa or at least looked like him, for now at least. "Now, let's see how Trunks is doing."

* * *

Trunks had recovered but he was not in the most ideal shape. Bruises covered his body but he was determined not to stop yet, "Oh, father." He muttered to himself. "Why did I get myself into this mess? Why was I so eager to impress you? I was too... overconfident... why is my power not enough? I know you could destroy my opponent without even trying. Why am I so weak?! I constantly train with you because I know it makes you proud, but what's wrong with me?! Why can't I beat him?!"

"Are you praying before you die, whelp?" Nexus asked, flying down and coming into Trunks' view. "Well, I hope you've finished your prays because I'm about to kill you and it's going to be brilliant. For me that is, not for you."

Trunks closed his eyes and was trapped by deep thought, "Father... I must not let you down..." The half Saiyan thought. "I will not let this creature finish me off! I will overcome this challenge!"

Suddenly, the son of Vegeta screamed in anger and was enveloped in a bright golden light. Before Nexus could even react, Trunks charged at him and struck him head first in the chest. Nexus was sent flying into the distance, but fortunately for the dark creature, he managed to stop in mid-air and recover, "Lucky hit." The creature said, his voice giving off the impression he was furious. "Now, let me show you true power!"

Nexus raised his left hand in the air and began to concentrate. Energy began forming above his hand and a bright red ball appeared, the size of this sphere increasing every second. Trunks' eyes widened when he saw the incredible power of what Nexus was charging up. As a first reaction, he began powering up.

Eventually, the dark being was satisfied with the size of the energy ball, "Taste this!" Nexus screamed with agony as he threw the swirling ball of destruction right at Trunks.

* * *

"What is that thing doing?" Vegeta asked, looking at Nexus. Nexus had his hand in the air and was calling in energy.

Goku was the first to realize what was going on, "What?! He's charging up an attack that could destroy the Earth!"

"Don't worry about it." Mystic said, surprising Goku and causing Vegeta's curiosity to rise. Mystic grinned with confidence, "I would normally fear an attack like that but... have you not noticed? Trunks' power is rising incredibly."

"It's nothing compared to our power, but it's impressive." Gohan remarked. No one had noticed that he and the rest of the Z Fighters had also flew up to get a better view of the battle.

Vegeta turned around and kicked Gohan in the stomach, "You fool! You think you have power?! I'll show you true-" Before Vegeta could attack Gohan, his rival Kakarot stopped him.

"Vegeta, listen to yourself! What's the matter with you? You haven't been yourself at all!" Goku asked the prince.

"I don't need your sympathy, Kakarot!" Vegeta yelled at his rival before deciding to ignore Kakarot and focus more on the battle between Nexus and Trunks.

Goku decided to ignore Vegeta's inner rage and assumed he was just having a bad day.

Goten closed his eyes, "C'mon Trunks. You can do this..." He thought to himself.

* * *

Trunks only felt fear as the ball of energy got closer and closer to him. He refused to believe that this was the end of his life but he knew that if he didn't do something, he would die. He couldn't die, he was needed. He would not let his father down! Trunks powered up even more than before. He attempted to push his body to its limits, it was his only chance at surviving this powerful attack. However, something unexpected happened. As he pushed his power to what he thought was his limit, he felt new energy coursing through his veins that allowed him to ascend even more. He felt his muscles increasing in size and strength and with one massive scream all of this powerful energy that was lying dormant in the young Saiyan revealed itself and boosted his speed and power tremendously.

He had become an Ascended Super Saiyan.

The sphere of energy was closing on him fast, but he could do nothing but grin as the ball got closer and closer... and it hit him. From Nexus' point of view, it looked as if Trunks was engulfed by the sphere as it dug its way into the Earth. Nexus could only cheer at his supposed victory. However, his expression changed when the sphere of energy came rising up. As Trunks walked up the crater that was made, he revealed that he was holding this powerful attack with one hand like it was nothing, "I don't suppose this is yours?" He asked with new-found confidence.

Nexus couldn't believe what was happening, his most powerful attack was doing nothing and it was about to be used again him. His body shook with something he had never experienced before; fear.

Trunks concentrated all his energy to the arm holding this unique attack and threw it into the air at Nexus at an incredible speed. Nexus attempted to dodge the attack but the sphere of energy was so large that he was engulfed and swallowed whole by the incredible sphere of dark energy as it left the planet and eventually disappeared from view.

Trunks had ascended and won the battle.


End file.
